Maybe to reinforce what other folks had to say and maybe just because we all like a good story - here is a follow-up:
I'm the guy you initially outbid. As you probably know a few days after talking with you the seller called me back, admitted that he felt bad about breaking our hand shake deal and re-offered me the airplane. I was a little uncomfortable but figured anyone can make a mistake (from my point of view) and said OK. He took a deposit and we agreed on language in a P&S.
During the process a number of log irregularities and title issues came up. A few weeks went by and yesterday he informed me that he had found another buyer willing to ignore the log and title problems and that he was backing out of the agreement (he hadn't signed the P&S yet).
I figure I'm probably better off in the long run but I think the important points are:
- don't ignore the title search, log issues, pre-buy etc.
- if things smell a little fishy, they probably are
- don't be in too big a hurry
Anyway, I'm back to the search.
Greg in MA
